A Panel Regression Study on Global-level Environmental Concern using Cross-national Surveys

• In Event: 046 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Environmental Concern and Worldviews

Abstract

There is a longstanding discussion between the postmaterialist values theory and the Objective Problems Subjective Values theory on factors that shape public environmental concern. Different from most existing studies that used either the World Values Survey data or the International Social Survey Program data, this paper uses data from the Global Attitudes Survey to explore this subject. Findings from the correlation and panel regression tests show that the potential influential factors on public environmental concern varies across countries. The likelihood for residents viewing environmental problems as the greatest world threat is affected by country’s economic affluence. In addition, the level of ecological degradation is an influential factor on environmental concern for citizens from developing countries only. Therefore, I claim that environmental concern spread well beyond the developing countries and multiple factors serve as the causal driver. I conclude by discussing the theoretical implications for the findings and outlining future steps for this research.

Author

• Feng Hao, Washington State University